Author: Fworld

As Spain entered the third week of lockdown Friday, the streets of Barcelona, the second-most populous municipality, were empty due to the coronavirus pandemic.Iconic tourist attractions in the capital of Catalonia region, such as Arc de Triomf, Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia and La Rambla were deserted.The only people occasionally seen on the street were those walking …

More than half a million people in Britain have volunteered to help the National Health Service cope with the coronavirus epidemic. Across the world, people are stepping forward to help the most vulnerable – offering hope that societies can overcome the huge disruption caused by the virus. VOA’s Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …

The United States now leads the world in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, and Congress is on the verge of action to relieve the outbreak’s economic toll.As of late Thursday, a count by Johns Hopkins Medical Center shows more than 85,000 cases in the United States, followed by China with more than 81,000 and …

Spain is reeling under the onslaught of the coronavirus, with fatalities surpassing those of China, the health system collapsing and retirement homes becoming open graves. Hospitals are running out of critical supplies, and about a third of medical staff have been contaminated by the highly contagious virus, carried by tens of thousands of infected people cramming …

As Italy continues to battle the coronavirus, a patient who contracted the virus earlier this month warns the world to be careful because the virus can be passed by those who show no symptoms.Italy’s rate of coronavirus infection slowed for a fourth day Thursday, with many hopeful that the long lockdown is providing the results …

Illegal migration flows to Greece have dropped to their lowest point since the start of the year, counting upwards of 100 cases this week, after the governments in Athens and Ankara lock down their countries to contain the spread of the coronavirus.   The dramatic decrease offers some respite for Greece, which has been struggling …

Leaders of the world’s most powerful economies will convene virtually on Thursday to try and coordinate a response to the fast-spreading coronavirus, which has shuttered businesses and forced well over a quarter of the world’s population into home isolation. The meeting for the Group of 20 nations will be chaired by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman. …

Germany’s lower house of Parliament – the Bundestag – approved an $814 billion aid package Wednesday to cushion the economy from the direct impact of the coronavirus outbreak.   In order to fund the emergency measures, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is planning to take on more than $168 billion in new debt for the first …

Neighbors on British street this week pulled together to help an eight-year-old girl celebrate her birthday after coronavirus lockdown regulations left her stuck in her house. The entire street in a Southhampton neighborhood Wednesday sang “Happy Birthday” out their windows for the girl — named “Sophia” — who stood outside her home in tears as she listened. Cell phone …

Russian President Vladimir Putin has postponed an April 22 vote on sweeping constitutional changes that could allow him to remain in power for 16 more years, because of concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.Speaking in a live television broadcast on Wednesday, Putin said a new date for balloting will be determined based on the recommendations of …

 Turkey is charging 20 suspects in connection with the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.The Istanbul prosecutor’s office said its indictment includes accusing Saudi Arabia’s former deputy intelligence chief and a royal court adviser of instigating murder.The other 18 suspects are charged with deliberate murder.Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.Saudi officials have …

Hungarian oil and gas group MOL said on Wednesday one of its factories had been converted to produce disinfectant sanitizer liquids to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.   MOL’s managing director Peter Ratatics told a news conference the plant in Almasfuzito, western Hungary, would produce 50,000 liters of sanitizer liquids per day. The …

The Vatican is inviting Christians around the world to join Pope Francis in prayer against the coronavirus pandemic as some workers in Vatican City complain they are being discouraged from working from home. A church tweet says Francis will conduct his prayer service Wednesday at 1100 UTC.  Vatican officials have confirmed at least four coronavirus cases so far.  Although the church has said it is encouraging people TO work from what it calls “remote locations,” the Associated …

Rising coronavirus infections aren’t only testing Europe’s national governments to their limits but also straining European Union solidarity with the governments of member states shrugging off pleas for greater coordination.  Instead, national governments have been paying little heed to Brussels and are pursuing their own ways of containing the virus and coping with the economic fallout, say diplomats and analysts. One after another, the governments of the …

At a time of isolation, people in many European cities hit hard by the new coronavirus are taking at least a minute each night to come together in gratitude.They stand at open windows or on balconies in Rome, Madrid, Paris, Athens and Amsterdam, singing, cheering and applauding even though they know their intended audience is …

In Italy, the Veneto region has initiated mass screening of citizens to find asymptomatic carriers of coronavirus.  The action follows mass screening in a single town that has had no new cases since March 13.     Veneto Governor Luca Zaia has decided to launch large-scale testing of the entire population of the northeast Italian region. …

The United States could become the global epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as Britain went into lockdown and Olympic organizers considered postponing the 2020 Tokyo Games.   But the Chinese province of Hubei, where the virus was first identified in December, said it would lift travel restrictions on people leaving …

Health authorities say Spain has registered a daily record increase in its daily virus infections and deaths.  Spain announced 6,584 new coronavirus infections Tuesday, bringing the overall total to 39, 673. The number of deaths also jumped by a record number of 514 to 2,696.   “This is the tough week,” Fernando Simón, the head …

Italy, which has suffered by far the deadliest consequences of the novel coronavirus outbreak, reported Tuesday a third consecutive day in which its daily deaths and new infections declined. The 601 deaths recorded Monday are still a staggering figure, but one that is a vast improvement from nearly 800 on Saturday. Italy has reported more than 6,000 …

Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange say they will file papers Wednesday to have him released on bail because he is at risk of contracting coronavirus. Assange is being held at a London-area prison as he fights extradition to the United States, where he has been charged with espionage for obtaining classified government documents from former …

Turkish security forces detained five elected Kurdish mayors Monday in anti-terror raids, a move that was condemned by human rights groups, as Turkey is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. The mayors are members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which swiftly attacked the detentions. “We reject with hatred this vile attempt that does not shy away from showing enmity against Kurds, even in these difficult days when the whole …

Turkish officials are threatening to seize factories where face masks are produced if the companies running them do not agree to sell their products to the government.Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told Turkish state-run media Monday the companies must stop hoarding their stock and sign contracts with the health ministry or they will be seized. …

The troubles of opera superstar Placido Domingo continue to mount.The 79-year-old Domingo announced Sunday he has tested positive for the coronavirus.He said in a Facebook post it is his “moral duty” to reveal that he has the illness.The tenor says he and his family are in self-quarantine, adding that except for a fever and a …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has gone into quarantine after being informed that a doctor who administered a vaccine to her has tested positive for the new coronavirus.Merkel, 65, was informed about the doctor’s test shortly after holding a news conference Sunday announcing new measures to curb the spread of the virus, her spokesman Steffen Seibert …

Europe has become the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, with the hardest hit nation, Italy reporting hundreds of new deaths on Sunday.The total number of deaths in the country has now surpassed 5,400.All nonessential businesses in hard-hit Italy have been ordered to close as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic.  “It is the most difficult …

Britons have been urged to not visit their mother’s Sunday as the country celebrates Mother’s Day amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak. “If your mother is elderly or vulnerable, then I am afraid all the statistics show that she is much more likely to die from coronavirus,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an address to the …